bolte



(No Mouel.)

HORSE HAY FORK.

P. H. BOLTE. No. 309,022. Patented Deo. 9, 1884.

uorneys "Nrrnn gitarre,

AfrnNir @Fisica `v FRANK H. Bonrn, IoF MILWAUKEE, wisooNsiN; AssiG'Non ToTHFFGFL- HOFF MANUFACTURING ooMFANK-,OF sAMFLAoF,

HORSE HAYFORK.

.FEGIEICATION `forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,022,3dated December?, 1884:.

Application filed May 1G, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. BoLTE, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and in the State of Visconsin, have invented cer- 5 tain new and useful Improvements in Hay- Forks; and I do hereby declare that the followinguis a full, clear, and lexactjjdescription thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in ro hay-forks, and -wiil be fully described hereinafter.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of my improved device infposition when loaded. Fig. 2 is an enlargedlgside view,

partly in section, showing the position of the looking device when the fork is loaded and hoisted. Fig. 3 iis a like view showing said locking device when in position for loading.

The object of my invention is to provide 2c meanswhereby a hay-fork will be adapted to pileV the hayL/higher in the loft than it has heretofore been possible on account of the great height of the fork-head, caused by the form of the parts used to lock the fork in its .various positions. rEhe looking device I have designed for my fork very materially reduces the height of the fork-head, and will thus allow the load to be raised nearer the ceiling of the loft or the roof of the barn, and to con- 3o sequeutly decrease the hand-labor which has to be resorted to in order to lill the space.

The bars A A' form the head of the fork, the part A' of which is connected to the upper end of the hollow legs B B, while the part A is connected to the upper end of the sliding rods C O, which latter have vertical play within the tubular legs B B, and have bifurcated lower ends, carrying the retaining-tines In the center of the part A' of the forkhead, and integral with or fastened to the saine in any suitable manner, is a bifurcated arm, a, projecting vertically downward, and in the lower end of this arm is pivoted the U -shaped lever E, the short arm e of which has au outer lug, e', slightly enlarged on its outer end and perforated to .receive the actuating-cord e, attached thereto. Projecting on the inner edge of said arm e and at right angles to it is the 5o locking-latch es. The upper inner edge of this latch is rounded, so as to enable it to slip from under the part A when this latter is pushed down to extend the retaining-tines D D into the hay.

A notch, a', is cut in the inner rim of the hoisting-ring ofthe bar A, to receive thelatch c3, which locksvthe fork in position for hoisting. The long arm e5 of the lever E is also providedwith alug projecting outward from it. This lug is notched inward to form the l'locking stop or shoulder e4. The function of this shoulder is to hold the cross-bars of the head `of the fork apart, with the tines D retracted-that is, in position for penetrating the hay-the shoulder being then heldgby the under side of the bar A, as shown in Fig. 3. j

The relatioulof the tines, their supportingrods, and the connecting-links, as wellastheir method of attachment and operation, forms no essential feature of my present invention, but, as shown, is `fnsubstantially thesameas in my patent for a single hay-fork, granted me August 2l, 1883, No. 283,694.

Having thus described my invention,`\vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

I. In a double hay-fork, a locking-lever pivoted to one of the cross-bars of the head and',:,`provided with a latch on one of its ends and a stop on the other, whereby itis adapted to lock the fork in positiou'for loading orhoisting, substantially as set forth.

2. In a double hay-fork, the combination of the cross-bars A and A', forming the head of the fork, hollow legs B B, and sliding rods G C, with a lever pivotally attached -to the bar A', and having arm e, with locking-latch c, whereby both of the cross-bars are adapted to be locked close together, with the locking- ]atch in a vertical line with the pivot of the lever when the fork is in position for hoisting, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a double hay-fork, the combination of the cross-bars A and A', hollow legs B B, and sliding rods G C, with a lever pivotally attached to the bar A', and having an arm, e5, with stop or locking-shoulder c, whereby the cross-bars are adapted to be locked at the farthest distance apart when the fork is in posiroo tion for loading, substantially as and for the In testimony that I claim the foregoing I ro purpose set forth. have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in

4. In a double hay-fork. in combination the county of Milwaukee and State of Wiswith the cross-har A, having a notch, a', and cousin, inthe presence of two witnesses. 5 the cross-bar A having the arm a, the lever E,n pivoted to said arm and having lug e for FRANK H BOLTE' actuating-cord e2, and lookinglateh e3 and the Witnesses: stop e4, substantially as shown and described, H. G. UNDERWOOD, and for the purposefset forth. H. J. FORSYTHE. 

